23 november 2021 – 07:07
Every year about 600 children in the Netherlands get cancer. This has a major impact on the whole family and certainly also on parents. Parents experience a lot of stress and often sleep problems. Feelings of stress and sleeping problems can also reinforce and maintain each other. The extent to which this plays a role in parents of children with cancer was not yet known. There was also little knowledge about the influence of stress and sleeping problems on the quality of life of parents. Nor was it clear which parents are more at risk for sleep problems and feelings of stress. Rensen discovered, among other things, that more than one third of the parents of children with cancer still suffer from sleeping problems years after the diagnosis.
These parents also experience a lot of stress and this combination has a major negative effect on their quality of life. The well-being of parents is closely related to that of their children. Parents need to be rested and emotionally available to support their child in the best possible way. It is therefore imperative that physicians pay attention to parents both during and after treatment and provide adequate help and interventions in a timely manner where necessary. Finally, her research also enabled Rensen to better identify which parents are particularly vulnerable to the vicious circle of fatigue and stress. These include parents who experience little social support, parents who themselves are chronically ill or parents who experience problems in parenting. The results of this study indicate that these groups of parents need extra attention.
Niki Rensen: Parents of children with cancer: sleep, distress and quality of life
Source: AmsterdamUMC
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Editorial Medicalfacts/ Janine Budding
I studied physiotherapy and health care business administration. I am also a registered Independent client supporter and informal care broker. I have a lot of experience in various positions in healthcare, the social domain and the medical, pharmaceutical industry, nationally and internationally. And have broad medical knowledge of most specialties in healthcare. And of the health care laws from which health care is regulated and financed. Every year I attend most of the leading medical conferences in Europe and America to keep my knowledge up-to-date and to keep up with the latest developments and innovations. I am currently studying applied psychology.
My messages on this weblog do not reflect the strategy, policy or direction of an employer, nor are they the work of or for a client or employer.
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